In an effort to provide improved protection for firefighters, multilayered protective coats of the type, for example, described in, of common assignee, in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 470,462, filed Feb. 28, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,806, issued Apr. 2, 1985, have been developed to provide more effective protective envelopes about the wearer thereof. Generally, a coat of such type includes: (i) a damage-resistant outer shell having an openable body portion with sleeves appended thereto, and a closure means such as a zipper or other fastening means for securing the openable body portion; (ii) an inner thermal liner comprised of a body portion having appended thereto sleeves and closure means which is substantially coincidental with the closure means of the outer shell; and (iii) a means for removable securing the outer shell to the inner liner. The inner liner of such a coat includes an interior thermal layer which is comprised of material suitable to provide thermal insulation, and a barrier layer comprised of a material suitable to provide a moisture barrier, the barrier layer being fixedly secured to the exterior surface of the thermal layer.
As multilayered protective coats for firefighters have been improved through the employment of more effective insulative materials, moisture barriers and protective outer shells to provide more effective protective envelopes, there has been the problem of entrapment within such protective envelopes of the moisture generated by the firefighter's own body. To obviate the difficulties presented to a firefighter as the result of the saturation of his inner garments due to such moisture entrapment, the multilayered protective coats of the aforesaid type are especially configured for prompt and simple assembly and disassembly, in the field or at the firehouse, so as to permit the removal of the perspiration soaked inner liner for replacement purposes, and/or for cleaning and drying of same.
The present invention, though directed to improving the integrity of the protective envelopes provided by such multilayered protective coats, is cognizant of the importance of such coats being of a design appropriate for prompt and simple assembly and disassembly. More particularly, the sleeve attachment of the present invention for multilayered protective coats, includes an inner sleeve wristlet assembly that may be attached or detached from the multilayers of a sleeve of the multilayered protective coat in a highly expeditious manner, thus presenting no impediment to the aforesaid required prompt and simple assembly and disassembly of the multilayered protective coat taken as a whole.
The demands placed upon a firefighter in dealing with a structural fire are numerous and often in conflict. Generally, each part of the firefighters anatomy should remain within the protective envelope provided by his protective garments and associated accessories so as to avoid injury from the excessive temperatures, flying debris and other hazards of a structural fires. At the same time, the firefighter must have full body mobility, including the ability to fully extend his arms in an upright direction. Existing multilayered protective coats are often encumbered as follows: when a firefighter's arm is extended in an upright position, the wristlet attached to the coat sleeve rides up on the firefighter's arm, exposing his wrist to the fire environment. Additionally, when the arm is in a raised position water and debris (including burning embers) may enter the coat between the sleeve of the outer shell and the sleeve of the inner liner.